By Kyle Roberts
LONGVIEW, Texas — It’s not very outlandish to suggest that the Bearcats have been the best high school football team in the state of Texas over the last three weeks.
Capped off by arguably the toughest of the three Lone Star opponents, Ruston High (5-0) crushed the 4A No. 2 Stephenville Yellow Jackets 63-17 in a neutral site contest, ending the Texas swing of the schedule and returning Ruston High back to “The Boot.”
“We talked to the kids a little about taking pride not only in your school, but you have an opportunity to represent our state and show people that Louisiana football is just as good as Texas,” Ruston High head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “We’ve played three really good football teams. I don’t think the score is any indication of how good (Stephenville’s players) are. They’re going to continue to win football games.
The teams combined for eight first half touchdowns and one field goal, with the Bearcats taking a 42-17 lead into the halftime locker room.
Both teams were unable to get an initial drive going, and after Ruston had a quick punt blocked by Stephenville, Yellow Jacket quarterback Ryan Gafford threw an interception to Bearcat senior Terry Lewis on the Ruston three-yard line and returned to the Bearcat 15. Ruston scored on a touchdown by senior Dylone Brooks with 6:58 to play in the first quarter on 3rd down and one to take a 7-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets answered with a 55-yard drive but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal at the 3:28 mark to cut the lead to 7-3.
Ruston followed with another long touchdown drive, capped off by senior Jordan Hayes getting his first of two touchdowns in the half from 20 yards out with five seconds to go in the first quarter. The score was set up by a critical completion by senior quarterback Josh Brantley to junior full back Lander Smith with a blitzing defending hurrying Brantley’s throw. Hayes got his second touchdown of the half at the 5:59 mark of the second quarter.
Stephenville answered with a 69-yard drive, aided by a 3rd down and 11 touchdown catch by Yellow Jacket wide receiver Tristian Gentry from 31-yards out to cut the Ruston lead to 21-10.
Brantley wasted no time finding senior Joran Parker for a 67-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the next drive to extend the lead to 28-10 with 3:03 to go in the first half.
Ruston’s defense held Stephenville to a three-and-out on the ensuing drive to force a punt; however, a muff by the Bearcat returner was recovered by the Yellow Jackets on the Ruston 20-yard line. Senior Sawyer Wilkerson punched it in a few plays later with 1:32 to go before the half from two yards out to cut the lead to 28-17.
Senior superstar cornerback Aidan Anding wasted no time for the Bearcats, returning the next kickoff 86 yards to the house with 1:17 to play in the second to put Ruston up 35-17. Sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Hudson added his first touchdown of the day shortly after with a 44-yard reception from Brantley with :06 to go before the half to give the Bearcats a 42-17 lead.
“I think things kind of snowballed on them,” Baugh said. “We were able to make big plays after they had some scores. It demoralizing when you’re able to do that — it undoes the kind of momentum that felt like they had.”
Hudson tagged on his second touchdown of the day with a 56-yard reception on the opening drive of the third quarter at the 9:28 mark.
Sophomore quarterback Sam Hartwell came in with 6 minutes to play in the third and led a drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown rush by junior fullback Lander Smith.
Hartwell added a bootleg touchdown late in the fourth to give Ruston the 63-17 edge and win.
The 63 points the Bearcats put up is the most Ruston has scored in a football game in the last decade. Ruston also extended the state’s longest winning streak to 19 games in a row.
The Bearcats showcased a very balanced attack with 251 yards in the air and 291 yards on the ground. Defensively, Anding registered an interception on the night, while senior linebacker led a balanced defense with four tackles on the day.
“Our kids made plays and they’ve been consistent in games,” Baugh said. “I’d like for practices to be more consistent that what they’ve been, and we’ve got to get that straight. That’s going to end up biting us if we don’t get it straight. But I told them after the game congratulations for really putting it on a good football team.”
Ruston will return to action Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. at Ouachita to start District 2-5A play. The game will be broadcast on Q94.1 FM and on BearcatNationNetwork.com.
“I’m very happy to be 5-0, and I think that speaks well about our kinds and their preparation,” Baugh concluded. “We’ve got a really tough district ahead of us. And transitioning from Saturday games to a Friday will seem like a short week. We’ve got to get to work tomorrow afternoon with the guys and be ready to move on quickly.”
